Algae keeps coming back

[Matt23]

Hey everyone,

so I’ve had my tank for about 7 months now and am experience a green algae outbreak. I went through my crazy ugly stage and let it run its course with lower light levels. It finally cleared up roughly, but I’m experiencing this new green algae on the glass and back glass. I clean the glass daily and feed my fish every other day a half of cube of mysis shrimp. I have 2 clowns, 3 nitro snails, 3 hermits (CANT ever find one), and a cleaner shrimp. The fish seem unbothered and my water levels are 7.8-.9 ph, 0 ammonia, nitrite 0, and nitrate probably between 1-2. I really want to keep a clean tank and want to look into getting another fish here in a month. Any recommendations for soft corals to help or anything? Thanks in advance.

 

[Shibaken3]

nothing can be done. clean the glass if you don't want to see it.

 

[reefsaver]

My go to would be regimental dosing of MicroBacter Clean, NO3PO4X dosing, run some GFO in a reactor to pull the Phosphates out of the water column which usually takes a fair amount of time. I think I would stop there because it should be enough to battle the slime with the Bacter and remove excess nutrients without adding too much extra maintenance. Although I would buy a dosing pump eventually because I'm lazy hehe. I recently ran out of some bacteria called Continuum Clean M and saw immediate differences in glass algae/slime.

 

[elysics]

You could get more and different kinds of snails, but that's not going to get you clean glass, but more of a bite pattern rather than completely occluded.

You could dose small amounts of silicates, I find the resulting brown diatom haze that replaces algae on rh e glass less ugly and less occluding.

But if you want clean glass, you got to clean the glass. View it as a therapeutic thing, when you feel down, you can feel great about your tank looking so much better with only a few seconds of work.

 

[Glenner’sreef]

Lawnmower Blenny and snails. And keep sunlight, direct or diffused from your hitting your tank.

 

[exnisstech]

I would just clean the glass and let the tank do its thing. No way would I start dosing majical mystery cures to a tank that young. My tanks have been up for over 3 years and I clean the glass every other day. I haven't found a snail yet that does a good job cleaning glass. They just leave snail trails.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hey everyone,

so I’ve had my tank for about 7 months now and am experience a green algae outbreak. I went through my crazy ugly stage and let it run its course with lower light levels. It finally cleared up roughly, but I’m experiencing this new green algae on the glass and back glass. I clean the glass daily and feed my fish every other day a half of cube of mysis shrimp. I have 2 clowns, 3 nitro snails, 3 hermits (CANT ever find one), and a cleaner shrimp. The fish seem unbothered and my water levels are 7.8-.9 ph, 0 ammonia, nitrite 0, and nitrate probably between 1-2. I really want to keep a clean tank and want to look into getting another fish here in a month. Any recommendations for soft corals to help or anything? Thanks in advance.

Your number one issue is and will be having a tank at the window in which UV will penetrate blinds, curtains and shades. Back glass makes sense as again- the window
Are you using RODI water or tap water from the faucet ?
What is your nitrate and phosphate levels ?
Adding snails will help as listed below but you will need to break the UV issue which UV is stronger than most realize. Black construction paper from Walmart on the back glass alone will help slow this process down. Alos reduce white light intensity a few days.
Snails:
Astrea
turbo grazer
cerith
trochus
nassarius

Pencil urchin

6-8 Caribbean blue leg hermits